Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Corrieagate Day II: Round Up

Initially, it only looked kind of sad. Larry Corriea himself didn't honestly seem too annoyed about being kicked out of Origins. He just seemed a bit tired more than anything else.

However everyone else blew their stack on his behalf.

From author Jason Cordova

Dear Sir,

It recently came to my attention that NYT bestselling author Larry Correia had been uninvited from your convention following an outcry from a few malcontents.

I can attest from personal experience of attending cons with Mr. Correia that, not only is he a gracious guest who loves interacting with all types of fans, is a huge gaming nerd who fits in with the stated mission and goals of Origins according to the website. This attack on his character is nothing more than a witch hunt, very similar to the one which was used on Mr. Correia’s coauthor, John Ringo, a few weeks prior at another convention.

Mr. Correia had always shown grace, been polite, and worked with the concom of every convention he has attended. Those who seek to discredit and destroy him are abusing the rules of your convention in a manner which they were not meant for and raising enough of an outcry that your convention, undoubtedly, feels compelled to respond to. Unfortunately, instead of speaking with Mr. Correia, it appears that you have reacted in a manner which can only be described as “knee-jerk”. You have allowed concern trolls to dictate your guest list while alienating you from a fan base which both pays to see their favorite author and supports other commercial endeavors at conventions as well.

Conventions such as Origins are supposed to be for all fans. However, with outward appearance of appeasement to the vocal minority who seek to undermine all of Mr. Correia’s hard work as well as alienate his fan base from any future conventions you might host, it behooves me to suggest that you are hurting nobody but yourselves with this move.

While I am not as big of a “name” as Mr. Correia, I still have developed quite a following as well, and I have already let my readers know that Origins is not a convention that I will consider in the future. Which is a shame, because literary and gaming are two of my biggest draws.

I do hope that you consider the ramifications of appeasement in your future endeavors. I understand that Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain tried your tactic as well, and history showed just how poorly it worked out.

Sincerely,

Jason Cordova

Next Mad Mike Williamson weighs in on Origins Facebook page.

Michael Z. WilliamsonSo: A very white "feminist" marrying the first generation son of a multi-millionaire, high-caste Indian, complains that a Latino makes her feel "unsafe" as a "Brown" person?

Why are you letting this deranged lunatic attend your convention? No one is safe around someone like her.

Kurt DuncanHow the heck would *you* know what a hero is? You caved like a poster-board knight in paper armor when the screeching leftists chihuahua's complained about your Guest-of-Honor list....+20 Cowardice...See More

Bert GoddingThe term "Mother" is a CIS normative term that is purposely hurtful to all trans and non-binary women. You should be ashamed at promoting this transphobic holiday. I demand that you remove this post immediately.

Larry has also been my friend through the better part of ten years, welcoming myself and my lovely wife Annie O'Connell-Torgersen into his home—where he is overwhelmingly encouraging, good mannered, good humored, and never lacks for positive energy about . . . everything. That's just who Larry Correia is. He is a force for brilliance in this world.

So you will all understand me when I say that any convention which deliberately goes out of its way to not have Larry Correia counted as a guest, is doing not just itself a disservice, but the fans as whole a disservice too. Especially when said convention is allowing itself to be played by Cultural Marxists who tell lies and spread slander.

I am old enough to remember a time when politics did not completely dominate genre product and genre business the way it does in 2018. I am still young enough to hope that—sooner or later—enough adults will realize what the Cultural Marxists are up to, and give the Cultural Marxists the boot. The Cultural Marxists already ruin too much. It's a shame to see them ruining still more, every passing year.

Larry Correia, and John Ringo, and so many other creative professionals who are on the shit lists of the Cultural Marxists, don't need conventions. Larry, John, et al., are fine. They make wonderful things which mountains of fans pay top dollar to enjoy. You cannot stop their signal.

But the conventions and seminars and symposiums desperately need Larry and John. DESPERATELY. That is the only way you're going to meet your bottom line, and keep your consumer base not just healthy, but thriving too.

This has caused enough of a stink that the insiders at Origins are starting leak.

It gets even better if you know the whole extent of the problems with origins.

1: their attendance has been declining steadily. Not quickly, but consistent falloff.

2: They are losing tier 1 exhibitors. This year they lost Ninja Division. Asmodee (who have a whole track) is in the process of a private equity deal.

3: The fill rates on games has been going down in many tracks. When I started GMing games there, fill rate was in the high 70% range overall. [Now a top GM does] well with a rate in the 60% range last year.

4: There is more competition every year. Adepticon is growing. Pax Unplugged was stood up and has the sort of reach and money to grow FAST if it puts on good conventions.

5: Cost for their space is going up every year, as the convention center renovates and expands. There will come a point where it isn’t really worth it to buy space at what they need to charge.

6: The various gaming clubs that have been putting on games and providing content have been being frozen out if they aren’t large enough or partnered up with one or more GAMA members.

7: It’s been playing second fiddle to the GAMA tradeshow, and it is showing in every organizational aspect possible. They couldn’t get their event registration working reliably for almost 3 days after opening it this year.